Oh yeah, it’s ‘bye-bye’ to the incessant stimmy clapping of every syllable out of her mouth — thanks, Preschool Staff — way to go giving her THAT lovely perseverating gem.

This End is really a bright, new Beginning.

RM starts her new school on Monday — a school built just for her and her peers who need the kind of education that is tailored to their needs. There will be ABA therapy, potty-training, and more speech therapy than you can imagine. THEY WILL USE SIGN LANGUAGE WITH RM — BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT SHE USES — not whatever form of communication that is the cheapest and easiest for the district yet is lost on her.

She will be in a school with a teacher-student ratio of 3:2. That’s right folks — there are MORE teachers than students at this school.

How much does it cost you ask?

Well, it costs about $150,000 per year. Yes — that is astronomical. However, if the money wasn’t spent today, it would cost upwards of $3 million to care for her as she grows up without the help she needs now. So that seems pretty reasonable to me.

1 in 110 kids in the US — 1 in 88 military kids in the US. The ‘tsunami’ of children growing up with autism is coming and it will wipe us out in the long run if we do not intervene NOW.

Ok — back to the bitersweet ‘goodbyes’ today. I am grateful to RM’s teachers and how they have cared for her in the last two years. I am sad that we couldn’t be closer because of the bully Sped Director. I think RM’s teacher runs a tremendous preschool class — it just wasn’t working for RM.

So I will be picking up RM from her last day at preschool this morning, armed with handmade cards and presents for all who took such great care of her — I know they love my baby girl. Who wouldn’t?

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About Rachel Kenyon

Rachel Kenyon is an Aspie, Advocate and single mom of two beautiful babes - The Boy (11) and RM (8). The Boy is a Legomaniac and RM is a kick-ass diva with Autism and 4q Deletion Syndrome.
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I love that you have taken the time to make sure you honor those who have done the best they could with their hands tied because of bureaucracy. Even more, I love that RM will finally be getting the right supports to succeed. xo

I agree with Niksmom – so glad that you gave the good people the credit. There are *so* many good people that adore our babies, just as they are, and who try to make life better and better for them. And I can’t wait to hear how RM does at school!!

It is now Sunday evening. I have been catching up on all your blogs. Feel a little stalkerish. Can you plan to do something special just for you tomorrow? Take a bit of time to relax into this next chapter. You deserve it. The chores can wait a day or two. You have inspired the heck out me. We have been on this ride maybe 10 more years than your family and I appreciate the renewed feeling of fire in my belly. Just in time to prepare for our last PPT meeting before highschool. Thw universe has a way of connecting the dots. Sweet dreams for the whole house tonight!!

Thanks so much for your support! Tomorrow will be an exciting day, for sure! I truly appreciate your kind words – I feel blessed to have the opportunity to put it all out there to share.

It sounds like you have battled a long time. Sometimes, we all need a recharge of fire in our bellies to keep trucking on. I wish you the very best on your next IEP meeting. High school – wow! Come back and visit and keep us all posted!

[…] have chosen to be still and continue the quest for ‘settling in’ from a deployment and new beginnings at a new school. But in August, we will attempt some camping trips and a trip to StoryLand in New […]